Stadium Emergency? Gators Fans Text for Help
Gators fans punch in a text message, and help is on the way.
GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 1, 2009 -- When the University of Florida Gators take the field this fall, fans might notice something a little different. We're not talking about new players or even a new coaching staff, but a new emergency texting system.
Introduced a couple of weeks ago at the spring scrimmage game, the system offers a way for officials to respond to medical emergencies, disturbances, and fans' needs more promptly. Chip Howard, associate athletics director for operations and facilities at UF, calls the new system an improvement over the resources fans now have.
"It's a quick way that they can text message us directly in the control booth and we can quickly get the right people out there and help them," Howard said.
The system is a simple. Fans text the word "Gators" to a short five-digit code with the emergency and their location in the stadium. This message is received in a booth and the necessary personnel sent out for help.
"We're excited about this because someone needing medical assistance wouldn't have to get up and go find an usher or police officer, and then have them radio someone in the control booth to get someone out to the location," he said. "This way we can get help directly to them."
The University of Florida is not the first school to implement the system. Scott Myers, vice president of sales and marketing for In Stadium Solutions, the new service's provider, says this system is already in place in many other venues.
"We have this in virtually every big sporting league in the country: the NFL, the NBA, major league baseball," Myers said. "We also have some NCAA venues using it as well as well as many NASCAR tracks."
Some of the NCAA venues include the University of Nebraska, Southern Mississippi, University of Central Florida and the University of Miami.
Myers notes that venues that use this system have seen a steady decline in the number of incidents at their sporting events. This is a way fans can alert management about unruly fans or misconduct at a game in a very discreet way.
